Promise and Betrayal: A Mo Dao Zu Shi (the Untamed) Story

Chapter 28

I drop to my knees next to him in shock, shaking his shoulders in vain to revive him, to no avail. Eventually, I relent, standing. I look up to the soldiers that have gathered, but I notice that some are missing. No doubt word of this will travel fast to Carp Tower.

Dashing back to Wei Ying, who stands in mute horror, I grab his shoulders. I try to shake him back into himself. He needs to understand the gravity of the situation. If we are to survive this night, we must escape. Now.

"Brother!" I snap, slapping his cheek. He finally tears his face away from the body to look at me. "If we are to survive the night, we must leave with haste."

"But Ah Li—"

"We must find cover before they realize we are gone," I say, cutting him off. "We can sneak into Carp Tower later. For now, we must leave." I pull him away from the scene. He moves reluctantly at first, but gradually turns away. We dash into the forest. I see no sign of Wen Ning, but I pray that he has also escaped safely. With any luck, we will rendezvous back at our village. Until then, I send him good fortune.

Once we are far enough away and out of sight, I turn back in the direction of Carp Tower. Our going is tedious and slow at times, but we make it to the outer walls of the compound by nightfall. I strain to hear what goes on inside, but all I hear is the faint crying of mourners. The funeral has commenced.

"I will stay on the outer wall and stand guard," I say. "Do not be seen. Do not get caught. Come straight back here when you are done. Wait for me if I have not returned." I will let him see his sister alone. It is the most I can give him right now.

He nods in mute understanding and jumps lithely over the wall. I scale it, staying low as I scamper around it, gathering the situation.

The main courtyard of Carp Tower is devoid of people. The banners have been taken down, replaced with solid white strips of fabric for mourning. The cries intensify as I approach the main hall. Most, if not all, the guests must be gathered there. I pray Wei Ying has the sense not to be seen.

The mourners are a mix of sorrowful and angry: some tremble on the floor in despair, others shake with fury. The clan leaders stand respectfully off to the side, heads bowed. Jin Guangshan stands closest to Jin Zuxian's coffin, kneeling low in front of his son's body. Lan Zhan stands with his brother, eyes closed. I hope he knows that if we did it, it was not intentional, and I pray he forgives us. But he may not know, and he may not forgive.

I stay on top of the wall, crawling on my stomach to avoid detection. I circle the hall, but I see no guards, no hint of the paranoia that Meng Yao seeded in the Jin clan leader's head. The grounds are strangely empty.

Wei Ying appears for a second, but he disappears the next. If I had not known he was also slinking around Carp Tower, I would have taken it as an overactive imagination. Still, I blink a bit just to make sure.

I lay on a wall for a while longer, observing the funeral proceedings from afar. I am careful not to move a muscle. The funeral proceeds with many a eulogy, some reminiscing, some promising vengeance, others lamenting the child's fate.

Jiang Yuanli is seated on the floor to the left of her husband's coffin, her faces stained and puffy, her eyes red and bloodshot. She clutches her baby close. I notice with some sardonic humor that her baby's swaddling clothes are also white to match the funeral. The baby cannot mourn if the baby did not know its father.

Eventually, I sense my time is up. I have been pushing my luck just sitting on this wall, never mind crawling around on it. I leap off the outer side, landing lightly and silently on the soft grass.